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[ For a cool-looking guy like Shizuo, he's probably had a few requests to be the one to take a customer's order to their table, that all that needs to be said is, 'Shizuo, you've got another one', and it'll lead him taking that prepared tea pot and pastry to a girl, two girls, a whole table of them!

Except this isn't a girl who's asked for him, nor does he even have the decency to be giggling or shy upon his approach. He looks almost curious when Shizuo comes over -- and just for your information, that there is a red apple spice tea with four pastries. Four different kinds!! But four. One of them's the special of the day.

Oh, but more importantly-- ]

Shi..zuo?

[ For a guy who specifically asked for him, he sure sounds like he's saying that name for the first time. ]

[Red, how did you know that he's had to deal with noisy girls and has had to practice his patience so many times thanks to them? Well, at least it brought in business...and gave him practice.

Thus he had been prepared to once again enter his zen mode. Enjoy the smells of the café, the light chatter from the other tables, the warmth of the tea pot and fresh pastries sitting atop the tray he carried, his own cup of tea and snack waiting for him in the break room...

So when he actually gets to the table and sees Red, he actually stops and blinks in surprise.]

Ah...Red, right? [...What's with the hesitance? Does he really look that different when in uniform? Is it because he doesn't have his trademark sunglasses? Anyway, setting his order down.] Haven't really seen you around here before.

[ Please stop being seductive in your icons, Shizuo.

Also, we happen to remember a ~~log~~ time not that long where Shizuo was advertising the café with a certain cute little girl. Or maybe that was a different café. Either way, that was a crowd to remember, and Red happened to witness the fuss in those early opening days, even if his heart belongs somewhere else when it comes to tasty treats.

Well, except for today. But Red's smiling when he hears Shizuo remembering his name, nodding. ]

I eat somewhere else for cake. [ Sorry, café. But not the point. ] Actually, I came here because I wanted to talk to you. --After work, [ he adds, since he knows he's on the clock right now. ]

Is that's okay? It's about...you, and Sosyne.

[ In a way. ]

[can't stop won't stop

Given that Shizuo has many different favorite places to sink his sweet tooth in, he can understand Red's position. Not that he really cares one way or the other, either. Unlike other people who like to promote the places they own or work at, Shizuo is very poor at self-promotion or advertising.]

...Yeah that's fine. But you didn't have to come all the way here to ask.

[What if he had other plans?? Not that he did. Really. He's more or less implying Red could have just contacted via the brain network.]

[ Speaking of that-- ]

I didn't know where else to reach you, and I saw you working outside here once or twice! And I didn't remember you well enough to think at you.

[ Spoilers, he was funny about Shizuo's name because he totally forgot it. When was the last time he saw him?? When Sosyne came back to Lake Niras? It's been forever, dude. ]

[...Ah.]

Guess that makes sense. [Honestly he usually sucks with names, but Red's actually easy and he's always wearing Red. ...Helps.]

My shift doesn't end until the next hour, though. That okay?

Mm! [ He's meeting him out of nowhere, pretty much a stranger, so he can handle waiting for the guy to be free. ]

Should I meet you here? Or I can wait at the park, near the entrance. [ The closest entrance, from the way here. ] What's better for you? It won't be a long talk.

[ He can't imagine why it would be, anyway. ]

[Shizuo thinks for a moment before answering.]

Park's fine. Probably would be easier and quieter.

[Plus he always passes it, anyway, so it's not like he'd be going out of his way, either. Though now he's really curious as to what Red wants to ask him.]

Okay. Thank you very much!

[ Sparkle sparkle sparkle-- not physically, but he looks cheerful at that. Also, it's literally something he could have taken the time to ask then, but oh well. He's definitely going to get to this tea he ordered...!

Is it time for a time skip?!!?! ]

[Service done, Shizuo is going to head back to work and be the "cool, quiet waiter" that for some reason people like. Oh well.

Anyway, TIME SKIP. He'll be running a few minutes late, but he'll be making his way toward the arranged meeting place. Seeing Red, he'll just wave a hand in greeting.]

[ Unlike some animes, Red didn't eat all the pastries he ordered right then and there; that wouldn't be appreciating them as well (plus, it'd be too sickly). So when Shizuo sees him again, he'll be there with a small plastic tub that he packed three of them away in, as well as ordering at the time a few extras.

...or, actually, what might stand out more are three pink porrings dozed away on the bench with him, gelatin bodies somewhat drooping inbetween the gaps of the wood, and a bunch of squirrels, apparently not doing the hibernation thing, have decided to pack up on lunch and dinner with the nuts Red's offering them. A whooole bunch of them.

Gotta find our own relaxing activities somehow. The squirrels don't seem too bothered either when Red's head perks up at the sight of Shizuo, giving a "Hey!" and a wave of his own, standing onto his feet to meet him halfway.

Probably because he left the bag of nuts with them. ]

Thanks for meeting me.

[...Well. That's...an assortment of creatures he wasn't expecting.]

No problem... [He really can't help but look past the boy and at all the animals.] ...They all yours?

[He knows this isn't the point of the visit, but. HE HAS TO ASK.]

Oh-- not all of them. [ He looks back as he answers, turning just enough. ] The grey ones are wild. The pink ones were a friend's who left.

[ Pooointing. ] Xing, Xiong, and Tong. --Oh! [ Quickly, he looks back. ] They were Lu Meng's!

[ Right! Lu Meng had been there that day too, so he should know him--? ]

[There's a small look of recognition at Lu Meng, and when he looks at the porrings again, he now finds some familiarity.]

Aaah, I remember them now. Mochi's met 'em once, too. [.....And caused problems.] So you took 'em in... [And. Now he kind of feels bad that he didn't think about the porrings after Lu Meng left. Granted he didn't know the guy all that well, but... Given how he had been thinking about what would happen if he left Mochi alone, he feels a bit guilty now.]

They seem nice, at least. Not causing any problems for you?

Mm. [ That's a negative, and he gives a headshake as he makes it, his voice softening after. ] They weren't happy when Lu Meng left, and it took a while for them to get used to me... but I've been living at a friend's place who helps me look after them when I'm not around. That's the biggest trouble with them, really.

[ He's always on the move and can't just stick them in a bunch of balls. ]

Mochi's a porring too? [ The question comes after a short pause. ]

Yeah, a green one. She's pretty energetic and can be a handful if I don't get onto her.

Can I ask what kind of things you do with her after this? I don't want to get distracted from why I asked you out here, but I never got to talk to Lu Meng much about the porrings before he left, and I never found more than one person who really knew how to take care of them.

Yeah sure. [And he nods as well in agreement.

But right, the question.]

So what's up?

Well, I remembered you were with Lu Meng when he went to see Sosyne, and you were there too when she showed up at Lake Niras... I don't know what your relationship is like with her, but me and a small group are going to visit some lands we're sure are connected to her, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come too.

[.......Aaaah. Sosyne. Something like a small frown forms, but he's not angry. Just. Deep in thought.]

We don't really get along that well... [SHE DESTROYED GOOD CUPCAKES. Although let's face it, of course they wouldn't get along.] But I can understand her a bit. Or at least be one of the few willing to punch her in the face when she needs it.

[And he says it in such a normal, calm voice it may sound as if he was going to shake her flipper instead. But yeah, he means it.]

Who else are you taking along?

[ 'Punch her in the face' might be a weird thing to hear, but it makes Red curious more than anything, mouth pulling briefly in his own thought, but not settling enough to turn into a frown. ]

Rei, Usagi, and... Eikichi. Do you know them?

[..................Thinks.]

Not really, no. I think I've heard of Usagi [Because of all those various announcements and she talks a lot.] and was Eikichi the guy who did that friendship thing?

Friendship thing? [ Uhhh.... ] He works at the spa outside the city. Usagi runs a wedding business, and Rei...she doesn't do anything like that, but she's a priestess. We've worked a couple time on trips.

...That's an interesting group.

[Like the start of a bad joke—]

[ Is it? Red looks to the side, but then he's smiling with the more he thinks about it. Sure, it must sound strange. ]

Usagi wants to help the Arehtei and I know her and Rei pretty well, and I need non-aligned to come along as well for some checks I wanna make. But Rei knows how to keep her cool and use dunamis, Eikichi's some kind of trainer like me with creatures he can summon, and Usagi's been on the surface a few times and had successful trips.

[ Cheerfully: ] You can't know everything about a person just by their job, right?

[ You're getting invited to a potentially hazardous location by a kid anyway, Shizuo-- ]

??/11

oh wow congrats for being first in the inbox lol.

looks at all this unused inbox space... sparkles

oh no she knows now THIS IS NO LONGER SAFE

sparkle dog

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